According to the merchant's words, the church and cemetery were a true fortress. Aside from the tall fence surrounding the graveyard, there was a magical barrier, making it possible to enter only through the main gates. One of our sponsors happened to have the key to these gates.
"Krito, what's the plan?" Rizel asked me as we approached the cemetery.
"We'll enter, inquire, and subdue if necessary."
"Through the main gates?"
"Yes."
"But he'll recognize us."
"Yes."
"And if he kills the hostages?" Rizel nearly raised her voice.
"No, although I've only glimpsed him briefly, I don't think he's that kind of person. If he could, he would have killed them long ago for his experiments. Perhaps he needs specific conditions for that, and without them, he won't achieve the full potential of his power."
"Perhaps, but he won't surrender either."
"Yes, I'm afraid we'll have to fight."
"Ha! And you thought you could manage without us?" A familiar, melodious voice rang out from a side alley.
From the shadows emerged all of our comrades, led by Katrina.
"Forgive me, but I thought you might need help," Kurone bowed, apologizing for her initiative.
"It's alright, I believe your assistance will be valuable to us."
After opening the gates, we entered inside. Graves from different eras lined the path. When we had covered half the distance, the church door opened, revealing its owner at the threshold.
"Do you need something?" The priest looked at us without much interest.
"Yes, we are looking for missing children. Do you happen to know anything?" I quickened my pace to prevent him from leaving.
"I know nothing about it. If you've come to inquire about the rumors of this curse, you're just wasting your time."
"We have different information. Do you not lead us to the underground, to the tomb of the invaders?"
"Seems like you won't leave peacefully, huh?"
"Apparently not." I slowly drew my swords from behind my back, preparing for the battle.
"I don't have time to deal with you. Let the guards handle you." With a dismissive wave, the priest turned around, and I caught a glimmer of a violet gemstone on the ring of his index finger.
As soon as the doors closed behind him, suspicious rustling sounds surrounded us, the ground trembled, and the stench of decay started seeping from the soil.
"Kriiiiito," Katrina spoke with a whiny voice, "What's happening?"
"Princess, are you afraid of ghosts?"
"Me? N-n-no, I just don't like cemeteries and all that."
"Katrina, beware, these are all puppets. They move at the will of the priest, but they have no souls," Rizel prepared for the battle.
"Whom are you talking about?"
"About them," the necromancer pointed at the graves, and the earth above them slowly began to rise.
One by one, skeletons of people who had died many years ago rose from the ground.
"Eeek, living dead!!! I hate them!!!" Seleria screamed in fear.
"Why are all our girls so squeamish? Algo, Grain, I hope you're not afraid of them?"
"Don't worry about us."
Gradually, dozens and even hundreds of skeletons surrounded us. They had no weapons, but their appearance terrified the girls.
"Rizel, can you do something with them?"
"No, they are under the control of another necromancer, and there are no souls in them that I could calm. We must deal with their master first."
"We're in a disadvantageous position here, let's break into the church! Seli, Kat, can you clear a path for us?"
"Alright!" The girls also had no desire to stay in such surroundings. Two powerful flashes cleared a path to the church, and we ran inside.
"The door is locked, Rizel, can you handle it?"
"Okay, but then we won't be able to barricade ourselves from the inside."
"It doesn't matter; we'll split up in there. We need to find Father Albert; he might harm the hostages."
With a violet flame at the tip of her staff, the girl hurled it at the door.
"Grain, try to hold this passage; Algo, kill anything that manages to get inside, although there's not much to kill."
"Krito, look," Algo pointed at the shattered skeletons, which slowly gathered back together and rose again. "I don't think my sword will do much harm to them."
"Just hold them off for a while, and we'll finish everything. Rizel, let's go down."
Inside the church, there was no one. The large room had stained glass windows, and only a staircase behind the altar led to the underground crypt. If we didn't hurry, the remaining ones wouldn't be able to hold back the undead for long.
We rushed to the stairs and descended to the lower floor. Along the walls stood anonymous tombs with the bodies of Vikings.
"It's strange that they buried those who invaded their land with such honors."
"Serena said it was a request from Nordrune's Jarl, who helped the townspeople in that battle."
After the nameless graves, there were two rows of tombs with the names of warriors.
"It seems like these are the tribe's finest warriors. They were buried separately; none of the warriors surrendered, they all died valiantly."
"Krito, but where are the kidnapped children, and where is the priest himself? He couldn't have escaped through another passage, could he?"
"I think there should be a passage here, look," I leaned towards one of the tombs with the proud inscription "Edward Degarun". "I believe this is it."
Using Rizel's staff as support, we struggled to move the heavy stone lid, and with a quiet click, it shifted aside.
"How did you figure it out?"
"Degarun, this is the house of the rulers of Nordrune, and none of them died in that battle. I doubt this tomb belongs here."
Descending downstairs, we found ourselves in a dark chamber with tall columns made of violet crystals that dimly illuminated the room.
"What is this?" I approached one of the columns and peered into the light. Inside, I could see a silhouette. "Someone is inside there."
Rizel quickly passed by the columns and stopped at the far end.
"It's Mili! She's inside!" The necromancer swung her staff, but I stopped her.
"Look closely; it's a solid stone. The children somehow got stuck inside it. We might harm them if we try to break the crystal."
"You're observant, young man," a raspy voice came from the darkness in the far part of the room. The light from the crystals intensified, and the silhouette of the old man became more distinct in the darkness.
"Release them, and maybe I won't kill you!" Rizel growled at the old man, but he didn't flinch a muscle on his face.
"Young people, as always, you rush too much. They are linked to my soul, and if something happens to me, they will all die. Also, trying to break the crystals is useless; these stones are woven from pure magical energy and embed themselves into the bodies of these children to draw more power. While they are inside, I can extract their souls to strengthen my magic, though, of course, their power is not unlimited."
"It's impossible! A mage can only bond their soul with a spirit, not a living person!"
"Hmm, I thought the same... before," the priest picked up a tattered book from the table behind him. "I served the church, dreaming of salvation, but it was all in vain."
"Salvation?" I looked at Rizel, puzzled.
"Tuberculosis, and severely advanced," Rizel glanced at the old man. "He doesn't have much time left at his age. I can see when an inevitable death hangs over people."
"That's right, girl. I prayed so much, but it was all in vain. The only hope for me was making a contract with a spirit, but as you understand, that is impossible now. However, luck smiled upon me; I found an old inquisition report about a mage who tried to extract the souls of living people to strengthen his magic. So, I decided to pursue that path. By the time I found where that mage's laboratory was, the High Inquisitor started suspecting me, and I had to flee from Belenor."
"And this place was here?"
"Exactly!"
"The disappearances fifteen years ago! Don't tell me they are still somewhere here."
"No, of course not. Based on that scientist's notes, I understood that he wanted to extract manna from the spirits of victims and, to do that, he killed them under specific conditions, preventing the soul from moving on. Though, the energy released was not that significant, and he wanted to try extracting the soul gradually. His experiments were interrupted only by the uprising of the local peasants. And his discoveries could have saved the lives of thousands of exceptional people."
"And for that, he had to sacrifice the lives of millions?! You're mad!" Rizel angrily stomped her foot on the floor.
"But tell me, does the life of a great mage or king not outweigh the lives of some homeless beggars?"
"No, it doesn't," I took a couple of steps forward. "The life of a king willing to kill people to prolong his own life and the life of a pennyless beggar are not comparable!"
"Don't be in a hurry, young man. You don't want to harm these children, do you?"
"And I don't intend to. I'll beat you until you release them. Let's see how much you value your life."
I took a few more steps, and two blades of black mist impaled into the ground before me.
"I'm sorry, but I can't free them. Or rather, I just don't know how. I never planned for it to come to this. However, if you allow me to finish my experiment, they will free themselves."
"What have you planned?!?" Rizel's patience was wearing thin.
"Even by drawing spiritual power from them, I won't achieve immortality; it merely enhances my magical abilities. As I've come to understand, the initial method of that mage was fundamentally flawed. To prolong life, I need a pure soul. That's why I gathered children with pure untainted minds, with various characteristics, to merge their souls into something new. A pure soulstone that will grant me immortality! I intended to commence this process during the new moon, when the flow of lunar energy is at its lowest. But it seems I'll have to expedite the procedure."
"This will kill them!" Rizel raised her staff threateningly.
"Oh, no, not necessarily," the priest picked up a dark violet stone from the table and placed it on a pedestal before him. "This stone will absorb as much power as it needs, and then the children's bodies will be free. Of course, those who have been here longer will probably perish. But you only needed the girl I took last. She will barely be harmed; you need not worry."
"We won't sacrifice anyone, and we will find a way to free them."
I rushed toward my opponent, but just before reaching the priest, a shadow coalesced before him, forming a shield that flung me backward.
"Krito, you'll only hurt them!" Rizel was worried.
"Rizel," I leaned in closer to the girl, "I'll distract him, so he won't start the ritual. You figure out how to free them."
"But I don't know," her voice trembled.
"You're a necromancer! You command life and death and can summon the spirits of the deceased. Surely you can return the souls of those still living?"
"I'll try."
Rizel nodded confidently, and I prepared for another attack.
"I'll buy you as much time as needed."
I quickly closed the distance and attempted to strike, but blades emerged from the shadows again, parrying my attack. In the next second, a dagger flew from the darkness, aimed at my throat, and I rolled to the side.
"Quite useful magic. When I obtained the souls of these children, I gained the powers of a shadow mage. I can transform it into anything."
The priest waved his hand with the ring, and his shadow writhed, forming dozens of slender serpentine shapes. Soon, I was surrounded by a swarm of shadowy snakes.
"Well, if it's only a shadow, then I can disperse it with light," I concentrated mana into my blades, causing them to emit a bright glow, but they immediately extinguished, leaving only a faint glow at their tips.
"In this place, my magic is stronger than any other! Your light won't help you."
"This should be enough!" I jumped into the swarm of snakes a couple of times. Though they didn't disperse from the light, every strike I landed proved lethal for them. Breaking through the swarm, I found myself before the mage and raised my sword.
"Well, go ahead, strike. What are you waiting for?" The old man grinned and deflected my sword. "As long as you can't harm me, all your attacks are useless. Get out of the way."
The shadow formed into a fist and threw me back, but that gave the needed time. The room gradually began to change.
Rizel sat in the center of the room while Krito gave her time to reach out to the only entity that could help. Placing her staff in front of her, the girl focused her magic upon it.
The entire place was filled with necrotic energy, and with enough strength, one could create what only a summoner was capable of - to open a portal to the realm of the dead.
The eyes of the skull atop her staff glowed with green flames, and a magical seal began to be traced on the ground. Between the six crystals containing the captive children, lines of green fire formed, shaping a hexagram on the floor. The space between the star's rays darkened, and the light from the crystals ceased to illuminate it.
Another minute passed, and the green radiance from the skull completely illuminated the room, consuming the light from the crystals.
"What is she doing!?" The priest suspected something amiss and attempted to interfere, but Krito knocked him to the ground.
"Just let her finish!"
The six-pointed star of flame soared into the air, and darkness covered the floor underneath, forming a perfectly round mirror, with Rizel sitting at its center. Slowly, the darkness around the girl began to rise, taking the shape of a figure in a black robe.
"Mistress of darkness, help save these souls."
The figure grew until it reached the ceiling of the room, and sleeves emerged from beneath the robe, revealing bony hands.
"These souls are free from your accursed power," a whisper as cold and piercing as death echoed from the shadow. Whatever it was, it was undoubtedly a powerful spirit from the realm of the dead.
After the shadow's words, the ring on the priest's hand lit up, and six glowing orbs shot out of it.
"No! THEY'RE MINE!!" The old man refused to release his captives, gathering all his strength in a fist and trying to reclaim the souls.
"Your false power won't stand a chance against a true necromancer." The sleeves of the robe elongated, and the bony hand touched the finger with the ring.
The priest's hand began to rapidly transform; it appeared to age before our eyes. The skin dried up, revealing veins underneath. Soon, it looked like a bony hand of a mummy, with skin tightly stretched over it, and the priest screamed in pain. From the fingertips, decay began, the skin turned to dust, and it crumbled to the floor. Assessing the situation, I swung my blade and severed the mage's hand. As it touched the ground, it disintegrated into dust, leaving only the ring.
"Dirty magician," the shadow clenched its hand, and the ring crumpled as if made of paper. The lilac stone fell to the ground and turned to dust.
Immediately, the crystals containing the children began to crumble, without harming the captive victims.
"You shouldn't have shown mercy," the shadow dropped these words, then descended to the floor and dissolved among the stones, as if it were just an illusion. When the shadow disappeared, Rizel finally opened her eyes.
"Krito, it seems I did it. I never even dared to hope," the girl looked at the crumbling crystals and rushed to the little girl. "Mili, are you okay?"
The girl, freed from her shackles, fell into Rizel's arms but remained unconscious.
"Teacher, I want to be as cool as you," the girl murmured in her sleep, a phrase that warmed the heart of the lonely necromancer. A sudden urge to peek under her cloak overcame me, and I discreetly circled around the girl and leaned forward.
"Of course, you'll grow up strong and kind, just like your beloved teacher," for a moment, the shadow around the face parted, and I saw soft pink lips that gently kissed the sleeping girl's forehead.
"Haha-ha-ha, so it was all worth it! Immortality exists!"
"What nonsense are you babbling about?"
"This girl is the proof! She's a necromancer, a contractor. She managed to summon the spirits of the dead! If only she tells me the method she used to connect with them, I'll live! Come on, please," the priest crawled toward the necromancer, his eyes wild, holding his severed hand.
"For a contract, the spirit's consent is required! And scum like you will never deserve it!" Rizel kicked the mage in disgust and stood up, lifting Mili in her arms. "We need to call the others to help everyone get out of here."